Nephew Valerian

"Arcturus and Juliana, what happened between them?"

As Augustus spoke, the servants of the Mengsk Family began setting out silverware and cutlery filled with food onto the table. Lisa was constantly reminding Harnack and Zander to be mindful of table manners and not to embarrass the lieutenant.

"..." Ailin Pasteur was a seasoned politician, usually mild-mannered and patient regardless of his mood, but now he was struggling to control his temper. "No, I swore to protect this secret."

"A secret." Augustus stared into Ailin's melancholy blue eyes. "What kind of secret could make you so angry and hostile toward Arcturus?"

"I don't like to pry into other people's secrets, but this concerns my brother. I can guess something."

Ailin looked at Augustus with suspicion, not believing that he could guess anything.

"Ten years ago, or even longer, Juliana visited Korhal once, accompanying you on your visit." Augustus looked on with a nostalgic expression. "Since then, I remember Arcturus always receiving letters from Juliana from Umojan, and he would write back every now and then."

"My parents didn't know anything about it. Dorothy was just a little girl then, very naive, but I remember some of it. Because Arcturus was completely unsuspecting of me."

"This pen pal relationship continued until Arcturus joined the army, and I believe that even while in the military, they did not sever this connection."

"That's right. Ever since Juliana returned to Umojan after that visit, she's been writing letters to a man I don't know. Even three years later, Juliana was still writing, even though he was no longer responding to her." Ailin took a deep breath. He had many things to do then, and by the time he realized Juliana had fallen for him, it was too late.

There were no sweet words, no cloying love phrases; the contents of their correspondence were all quite normal.

At first, Juliana only wrote to inquire about Arcturus's well-being, but the astute latter immediately realized that the girl was interested in him, so he began to reply.

In his letters, Arcturus portrays himself as a man of great ambition and aspirations, a brave and fearless hero. His philosophical and poetic writing, with its clear analysis and profound insights into the world, creates the image of a perfect man in Juliana's letters.

Of course, that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Arcturus Mengsk is strong and handsome, and he is very charming, which is absolutely fatal to a naive young girl like Juliana.

"Juliana is beautiful; she almost embodies every Terrans's ideal of Umojan woman. I know Arcturus is indeed fond of Juliana, but I don't know if he's ready to commit fully to a relationship." Augustus began to expose his brother's secrets.

"As far as I can remember, Arcturus never expected to start a family. Arcturus longed for the warmth of a woman, but perhaps like many things he did in his life, he always tried many things he had never done before to prove that he could do everything well. But soon, after his unimpeded success, the initial enthusiasm would quickly disappear." Augustus noticed that Ailin's face was gradually contorting.

Before Juliana, Arcturus had never experienced a real love affair.

"That damned beast, Arcturus Mengsk." Ailin wanted to continue cursing, but thinking of his beloved grandson, he forced himself to hold back. "So, he just sees this as a boring Game to prove his manhood? Or is he just thinking about sleeping with pretty unmarried girls?"

Augustus could probably understand this feeling. Imagine if his beloved only daughter became pregnant out of wedlock without his knowledge, and the father of the child disappeared for seven or eight years. Just thinking about it made him angry.

My foolish brother, please don't blame me.

"You should tell me what really happened." Augustus tapped the table. "It's a secret. If Juliana was actually deceived, then you don't need to hide anything from her. Otherwise, the longer it drags on, the more she will be hurt."

Ailin was both anxious and angry. If Arcturus were standing in front of him right now, he would definitely break his neck.

"Never mind, never mind. I was planning to tell Arcturus in a few months anyway, and no matter how much Juliana begged, I didn't want to delay any longer." Ailin was still sighing, but with a relieved expression. "Your brother didn't tell you he has a seven-year-old son because he knew absolutely nothing about it."

"This!" Augustus exclaimed, visibly shocked. "How could such a thing happen?"

"I only found out about all this when Juliana's belly grew bigger and bigger." Ailin's wrinkles seemed to deepen in that instant. "How could this happen? I've been asking her the same thing."

"Around the end of 2480, Juliana went to Tyrador IX, a newly emerging tourist planet. Damn, I thought she was just going to relax, but later the bodyguard told me that Juliana went to see Arcturus," Ailin said.

"They happened to stumble upon a Confederacy Resistance Army attack on vacationing Confederate Marine Corps, Arcturus successfully pulled off a hero's rescue. What fucking good luck."

"It's all my fault, I'm a failed father..."

"And so, things fell into place naturally." Augustus took a glass of fine wine from a maid wearing a white dust hat, took a few sips, and asked, "What's the child's name?"

"Valerian, it means brave." Ailin gradually calmed down. Augustus could tell that he liked the child very much.

"That sounds like the name of an ancient Roman emperor." Augustus held his wine glass, gently swirling the liquid inside. "So, Juliana gave birth to that child and raised him, but kept it a secret from his biological father."

"What is this woman thinking?" He revealed a hint of anger. "I can already imagine how Arcturus will react when he hears this. He missed the years of his son's life from birth to adulthood, and while the little guy was already developing his initial worldview, Arcturus wasn't ready to become a father and take on that responsibility."

"Juliana believed Arcturus's boasts wholeheartedly. She thought he was engaged in a great undertaking and couldn't afford to be distracted. She also worried that Arcturus might die from being disturbed if he heard about it on the battlefield." Ailin chuckled self-deprecatingly. "She's still just a little girl, naive and full of fantasies. Just like her mother who's long gone, Juliana is willful and stubborn, her thoughts as elusive as clouds."

"But now that the Guild Wars is over, I think I don't need to keep this secret anymore."

At this moment, Augustus quickly drank the cup of wine, as if he had made up his mind.

"My mother will be overjoyed that she suddenly has a little grandson," Augustus. "She will definitely go to Umojan to see Valerian."

"Angus needs his family's company most at this time, Katherine left at this crucial moment," Ailin said, frowning.

"No, no, she must go to Umojan." Augustus looked at Ailin, his tone as authoritative as if he were giving an order in the army, "Dorothy must go too."

"My father only needs me by his side."

"I want you to make the arrangements personally, and the spacecraft and personnel must be the most trustworthy. From boarding to takeoff to landing in Umojan, everything must be kept secret," he said.

"The Mengsk Family will claim to the outside world that they went to Tyrador IX. Of course, there really will be two people who have undergone plastic surgery and whose faces and figures are exactly the same as theirs, traveling to the Taradorn System in a spaceship, and we will buy the UNN headline news column for that day."